I get up reasonably early for work, so I have needed to streamline my makeup routine. I can’t sit around, playing with eyeshadows and deciding whether I should wear blush (note to self: ALWAYS wear blush, you want to look alive), so I’ve come up with a fast and easy routine that makes me look fresh and put together, but without being too much for a 9 hour work day in front of a computer (sometimes longer)

One of my top tips is to have it all packed the night before so it’s ready to go in the morning. I switch around the products I use a few times a week, depending on the day, what I’m wearing etc, but will always have an entire face of makeup in my makeup bag for me to use in the morning. I’m telling you – this is a LIFESAVER.

I start with a clear primer, I’ve been using the ELF Acne fighting primer for a while now and it’s really good. Whatever you choose has to depend on your skin though, and how long you plan to wear the makeup for. My skin holds onto makeup reasonably well, so I can get away with a primer like this.

I then colour correct with NYX Colour Corrector, then use a beauty blender to buff no more than 4 half drops of NYX Total Control foundation on my face. I like to use concealer more than foundation, so I’ll then go under my eyes with something like the Smashbox BB concealer, and then around my nose and on discolourations with Essence Camouflage Concealer.

Cream products last longer, so I take the Be A Bombshell cream blush stick in Southern Belle on my cheeks, then set it all down with ELF HD Setting Powder (ELF needs to sponsor me real bad). Of course, you can always set your face with a setting spray to make it last longer, but I find for a regular day I’m okay with just powder.

To warm up my skin a bit, I use a bronzer like Hoola by Benefit, then highlight my high points with Smashbox Spotlight Highlighting Palette in Turn it On.

To define my face, I’ll run a bit of ABH Brow Wiz through my brows, then tightline my eyes with Chi Chi Eyeliner in Bronze Ambition. For long days, I’ll use a liquid eyeliner and so a small flick – my favorite for this is Kat Von D Tattoo Lockit Liner. I’ll top off with Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara.

I rarely wear lipstick to work as it just comes off, and liquid lipstick is too uncomfortable for the day to day. I’ll run a bit of lip liner around my lips (Rimmel make a great nude one) and just apply lip balm.

When we have days where our skin isn’t looking the best, it can be so easy to want to load on the foundation and hide away from the world. Doing this, however, tends to worsen the breakouts and prolong their life span. Also, the last thing you want when you’ve got spots is to spend an hour looking at yourself in the mirror. So, I’ve developed a fast makeup routine for my bad skin days that makes me feel more confident but also helps my skin breathe a bit. It’s very simple, and all it does is even my face out a bit and help my confidence. I’m not trying to cover anything up, as spots are normal and if anyone thinks otherwise, they’re not living in the real world.

So, let’s get started!

After applying my usual skincare (updated skincare routine coming soon!), I use a combination of primers. One is the Elf blemish control primer to help my skin recover, but I will also use a pore filling primer to help even out the bumpiness of my skin.

Because I like to let my skin breathe, I use a CC cream, then concealer. If my breakouts are really bad I’ll use a green concealer first, but I’ll just dab a bit onto the back of my hand then press it onto the spot with my finger. I don’t go too heavy as you can see, I don’t really mind that you can still see I’ve got spots – everyone gets them. All I’m doing here is trying to make them appear a bit more calm while also helping them heal on their own.

I like to use a good quality powder on days like these that’s quite finely milled, as it sits nicer and makes all that concealer last longer. For bronzer, I will only use a matte as to not emphasise any texture, and for blush I like one with a sheen to it so I don’t have to apply highlighter for the same reason.

I’ll then fill in my eyebrows, throw some eyeliner in my tightline and load on the mascara – nothing fancy, just a basic look. I choose to have nothing on my lips except lip balm for two reasons:
a) I never really wear lipstick anyway
b) a lot of my breakouts are hormonal on my chin, so I don’t want anything near them to aggravate them. You can’t really tell in the images, but I have a split lip as well, so lipstick wouldn’t have worked even if my skin was clear!

Here you can see the before and after’s for yourself – there’s nothing fancy going on here, no heavy coverage or cake face. All I want to do when I’ve got some spots is not wear makeup and cover my face in spot cream, but I’ve got to go to work and therefore look somewhat presentable. So, unless I have a huge event on, I’ll stick to my theme of letting my skin breathe, while also eating well and drinking a lot of water.

Don’t forget your hair can also play an important part. Although it might be scary to tie your hair up when your skin is looking bad (we tend to hide behind our hair), if it isn’t the cleanest you might want to consider doing so to not antagonize your skin! Luckily in these photos I’d washed my hair the night before, so I was fine to leave it down – but it’s definitely something to consider!

*Disclaimer: I know that my skin isn’t the worst out there! I am lucky with relatively clear skin and I work hard at eating right, drinking enough water and using a good skincare routine to keep it that way. However, I still get the odd period where my skin says ‘fuck that’ and decides to ruin it all for me, and this is how I cope with it. Not trying to say you need to cover up any imperfections or that my skin is the worst there is*